1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical outlet devices, and more particularly to release devices associated with a wall outlet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the more common events in the life of present day man is insertion and withdrawal of plugs attached to various appliances into and out of electrical outlets. This event in fact has become so common that in many instances the steps taken during such an event are made with a less than the required care necessary for the operation. Particularly when withdrawing the plug from the outlet a person, rather than grasping the plug itself, will pull or yank on the cord extending from the plug, with the resulting damage to the plug and more importantly with the resultant hazard of exposing uninsulated parts of the cord. Generally, in order to provide good contact within the receptacle itself, the mating interface between the terminal of the plug and the terminals of the receptacle rely on friction fit. As a consequence the force levels necessary to withdraw the plug from the receptacle are often necessarily high. This feature is compounded by the frequent arrangement of furniture in places where manual reach directly to the outlet is less than comfortable. Thus the user of an appliance will often, when removing the plug, yank on the cord. In the prior art many devices have been devised for a more convenient withdrawal sequence. Most such devices, however, entail many operating parts and therefore are difficult to install for the typical user. Furthermore, because of the wide tolerances in manufacture and various design approaches to the plug-to-receptacle mating interface, the use of such prior art withdrawal aids often render a proper connection impossible.